Split souls
by Erxio
Summary: Follow the journey of a young man, struggling to get his memories back and trying to find a purpose in life. - My first story, which is going to be mainly about OC-characters, but will involve team RWBY etc. later on.
1. Chapter 1 - The lost man

**Chapter 1 - The Lost Man**

For Derek the awakening wasn't pleasant at all. Waking up with a strong headache is never a good sign, especially when you notice that some of your rips seem to be broken and one of your legs feels twisted.

He just laid on the hard ground, not knowing how he got into such a bad shape. When he tried to open his eyes the sunlight seemed to burn them, as if he hadn't been using them for month. After some time the pain stopped and he was able to look up towards the sky only to find it being blocked by emerald green trees. 'How did I get into this forest?' He tried to move his head around, happily noticing that his neck wasn't injured at all, and hoped to find himself near civilization.

Fortunate for him his still weak eyes could make out something in the distant that looked like a small house. And even though his left leg seemed to scream at him in pain he tried to stand up with the goal to get as close to the house as his condition would allow him. He hoped that someone would be there who would notice and help him.

After standing up proved to be a long and painful act he began to make his way to the house. He limped weakly towards his destination, each step increased the pain more and more and leaving him with less and less energy. And after what felt to him like hours of torment he finally was close enough to the house to be able to notice a human figure. Even though his vision became more blurry the longer he forced himself to ignore the pain he is in he was sure that the person he was seeing was a women.

And then he lost all strength. Derek was certain that he heard a female voice yelling, but he wasn't able to understand anything as his world turned into a black void once again.

* * *

Once again Derek did awake from his slumber. But unlike doing so while lying outside on the not-so-soft forest ground like the last time he instead found himself in a warm room, feeling a soft bed beneath him. As he opened his eyes the first thing to notice was a small and spartanic furnished room. It was lit in a lightly orange light, which suggested that it had to be around evening.

Wondering how he got here, Derek tried to set himself onto the bed to fully wake up. When he succeeded he was happy to notice his headache to be gone. He also realized that neither his chest nor his leg hurt nearly as badly as before he went unconscious. Which reminds him off how he must have ended up here. _'That woman in front of the house must have carried me into here.'_

He put away his blanked and examined his chest only to find his shirt being replaced by bandages. They seemed to have been applied quite thickly as his muscles weren't visible. Upon observing his legs he saw that he still was wearing his own pants but the left pant leg was rolled up and he found the same bandages again. With a weak sigh Derek tried to figure out what he should do now.

Should he just continue to lie here while waiting for somebody to enter his room? Should he stand up and walk around the house until he found someone? Debating about what would be the right course of actions in his situation, he decided that it would be polite to notify someone that he is awake and alright. And thus he moved himself into a position which allowed him to stand up.

In the first moment after doing so he began to feel a little bit light-headed but he ignored that feeling, simply putting it as a side effect of standing up so soon after waking up. After his first step didn't seem to increase that effect he carried on walking towards the door.

It took him five more steps to make him regret his decision of standing up as his legs suddenly began to feel like pudding, unable to carry him any further. And thus he made contact with the wooden floor.

* * *

Alex was preparing dinner when the foreigner came back into her mind once again. She was angry. Not at him, but about herself as she felt like the little, naive girl she has been one year prior once again. She was angry to realize that she didn't seem to have grown up in any way. And she would have carried on being angry at herself if her thoughts wouldn't have gotten interrupted by a strange noise coming from her guest room.

*thump*

Being alarmed by the sound she knew what must have happened. In a fast and calculated motion she put everything she worked on into a safe place, turned her oven off and moved with quick steps towards the room.

Right after opening the door she noticed her guest lying on the floor. She was worried if he went unconscious again. _'He shouldn't have stood up on his own…'_ But luckily her mood became lighter as soon as she heard what sounded like an angry mumble coming from the boy lying on the ground. Happy that he is awake she helped him up and back into the bed once again.

"Are you okay? You shouldn't have tried to move on your own yet," Alex said slightly nervously, as she wasn't used to talk to people she didn't knew. As an answer the foreign guy started to chuckle slightly, which managed to relax her a little bit. "You don't say. Thanks for picking me up … again," the boy said with a weak smile on his face. She blushed a little bit. Never before has a male besides her father chuckled about anything she has said. But then again, she hadn't met that many boys…

"N…No problem. At least you are awake now. How are you feeling besides having fallen on the ground?" "Well, my injured chest and leg don't feel as worse as they had back in the forest. I guess you were the one who treated my wounds?" Derek, who now was lying back in his bed, was looking directly in her face and he took a moment to take a good look at her appearance.

She was wearing a simple, light green summer dress which reached towards her knees. Her skin lightly tanned by the sun and fit well with her chestnut colored eyes. The long, dark brown hair of hers was bound to a pony-tail. There were two strange bulges on her head but Derek didn't put much thought in them.

Alex, who by now was sitting on the side of the bed, did blush under his stare and smiled back at him. "Y… Yes, I did. I am happy to hear that I was able to help you. By the way, my name is Alex. Alex Orchid. And what is yours?" 'Was that too much to ask for his name? … Come on Alex, calm down! This is just a normal question!' Man, she really wasn't used to talk to strangers at all.

Alex was relieved to see him smile again. "My name is Derek...," he seemed puzzled and stopped talking. "What is wrong?" "I… I can't remember what my last name is," he confessed her with a sad expression. He then began to touch his head with his right hand in different places. She quickly understood what he was trying to do. "I haven't found any visible wounds on your head when I was treating your wounds, so I doubt that there should be any now." 'Wow, I really can sound somewhat confident when I want to.' Alex smiled at her thoughts.

Derek looked at her once again and his expression suddenly changed from a confused to a shocked one. At first Alex thought it was about his lack of wounds on his head but when she noticed that she still was smiling. _'Great, now I look like a douche to him!'_ She was ready to become depressed when Alex noticed another thing about his face.

His eyes didn't seem to be looking on her mouth, or even her face at all. His gaze seemed to be focused on her hair. Her face now became red in the instant of a second. 'Is something wrong with my hair?' Derek opened his mouth but couldn't bring himself to say anything. After another two tries he finally was able to express what was shocking him so much. "You… you have wolf ears on your head!"

At first, Alex was confused about his statement. Then her face became filled with sadness as she began to remember why she and her father had to move out from her prior home in the first place. "Oh, that... I'll leave you alone, if you prefer it." But before she even could stand up from the bed she was stopped by a hand grabbing her arm. "No! I didn't mean to insult you! In fact, your ears are quite … cute."

This time, both of them started to blush at the same time about his words. "So, you are not one of these anti faunus guys?" Derek tilted his head slightly. "Faunus? What is a faunus?"

"How could someone NOT know about faunus? Especially after all the revolutions and wars between them and humans?" She sighed as her words only seemed to confuse Derek more and more. She thought that if would be necessary for her to explain anyone what a faunus is. 'Maybe he has lost more than just the memories of his name?'

She began explaining. "To put it simple faunus could be described as humans who possess animal features. These features could reach from something non-visible, like increased speed or a finer sense of smell, to something visible, like a tail or, in my case, ears. Many faunus own more than one feature but these always come from the same kind of animal. It all depends on which kind of 'animal blood', as humans tend to call it, runs in our veins. My mother was a wolf faunus and I inherited her blood and with that her ears and increased agility." She told him everything he needed to know about her species while watching his face becoming even more puzzled.

"And what is the deal with these 'anti faunus guys'?" This time Alex hesitated to tell him. She hated to waste her thoughts on the people who used to make her life a living hell. "Well, there are humans who hate us. People think that their hate comes from our animal like features, but that is just a theory. In fact, nobody really does remember what had started their hate. And I doubt any 'hater', who lives today, really has got any reason for hating my kind. Or at least they used to have no reason."

Derek watches her expression growing darker and more hurt as she continued. "Things started to change many years ago. Out of nowhere appeared the White Fang – a faunus only organisation whose goal is to create a world where human and faunus can live together in peace. Or at least they wanted to achieve this by peace."

"They tried as hard as they could to prove humanity that faunus aren't something to be afraid of. But nobody seemed to be interested in listening and everyone was provoking the White Fang by calling it a 'terrorist organisation'. And after some years the White Fang decided to stop trying to show the world that faunus are peaceful. They replaced their peaceful protests with assassination and robbery. They decided to become the monsters humanity has seem them as. And sadly this worked more than their protests. Now some people began to at least respect Faunus out of fear. But on the other hand they just gave every human a very good reason to hate and fight our species." A little tear formed on one of her eyes. But before Derek was able to think about anything to say she wiped it away with a small motion and put on a weak smile.

"There are still humans who willingly risk their own identities, their own safety, for a species that the majority of the humanity wouldn't think twice of getting rid of. Even though they get attacked for believing in a peaceful coexistence they don't stop." Her view wandered towards the window, where she watched the forest as the last rays of light were passing through the trees. While she was still smiling, her eyes did express how sad she was. 'At least until they get killed for helping like me…' ,

She looked back at Derek, only to find him watching the same weakly lit forest. His face wore once again a puzzled expression and she knew why. "Nothing of what I told you did ring any bells for you, did it?" Alex said slightly disappointed. She did hope that a well known name like 'White Fang' would be somewhat familiar to him. He turned his head towards her and started to stare at her. She blushed, wondering why he wasn't answering her.

'Maybe he is debating whether he can trust my story? Now as I think of it, it might be a little too much to wake up, not being able to remember anything, just to find to be rescued by a girl with wolf ears.' But her train of thoughts was abruptly stopped by a hand touching one of her wolf ears. She jumped in surprise with a loud scream, her hands now covering her ears.

Derek pulled his hand back as soon as he touched one of Alex's ears. He felt guilty for not asking her for permission to touch her wolf ear. But he seemed to have lost any ability to communicate. His head was filled with many questions but one of them was bothering him more as any other.

"They… They really are real, right?" Alex just was sitting on the other end of the bed and watched him. She was unsure whether the question deserves an answer or not. "I should have asked, sorry." His gaze wondered out of the windows once again.

She felt bad for making him feel guilty. Thus, right when he wasn't able to see her face anymore, she put on a mean grin. She closed the distance between them as fast as she could and pulled on one of his ears.

Now it was his turn to jump in surprise. She found it fascinating that a guy like him was able to scream like a ten year old girl. Alex couldn't resist her laughter. "Now we are even, you little girl." She said with a huge grin on her face. 'Man, after all this time I really forgot how good it feels to laugh again.'

Derek was still confused about her action but soon decided to join her laughter. They both enjoyed the good mood they were experiencing. Alex was able to forget about her past for a moment while Derek was able to ignore his lack memories about his own past for a moment. And to fire up Alex's laughter even more, Derek's stomach seemed to wish to join their fun, as it started to growl as loud as a wild animal. For him it was kind of embarrassing to make such noises. But Alex just found it hilarious, which resulted in her laughing from the bottom of her lungs while she unavoidable rolled off the bet onto the much harder floor, where the sound of laughter got replaced with one single, muffled "Ouch!" coming from her. Derek chuckled while offering the young wolf lady a hand which she gratefully took.

"Well, that surely lightened the mood. Now what do you think about getting something to eat? I was preparing some stew when you were still asleep," she said while giving a smile. "I would love something to eat. Can I be off any help for you?" Alex simply waved him off. "You are my guest. The stew already was done, it only needs to be reheated. And after all, you shouldn't even think about walking for today. Just relax until I come back." And without any further words she turned to leave the room, leaving Derek alone with himself once again. Not knowing what he should do until dinner he simply decided to close his eyes and began to listen to the sound of the wind blowing through the forest.

* * *

Derek was happy when Alex joined him again after several minutes, this time carrying a bowl with stew in each of her hands. "I thought you might get lonely while eating alone. But since you should stay in bed at least till tomorrow, I decided to eat here with you. As long as it is okay for you?" "Of course it is! Food always tastes better with somebody there to share." He moved himself on the side of the bed into a sitting position and offered her a place next to him. She happily sat down and gave him his bowl with hot stew. He observed the steam coming from it and took his spoon into his hand.

After the first spoon found its way into Derek's mouth his eyes instantaneously widened. The feeling of warm food in his empty stomach and the smooth taste of the stew itself make him feel comfortable. He rushed spoon after spoon into mouth without noticing that Alex was watching him. She chuckled lightly, happy that he seemed to like her food. "Wow, you are quite a black hole when it comes to food." Derek's arm stopped midmotion and he blushed, about which Alex chuckled once again. "Sorry, I just forgot my manners." In response Alex began to eat as well. "Well, you are excused. After all, my stew always tastes great." And thus the two ate their food in silence, enjoying he warm dinner as well as the silent company of each other.

When the two finished their bowl simultaneously they continued sitting on the bed while listening to the peaceful sounds of nature coming through the opened window.

"Thank you," Derek said out of the sudden with an unsecure smile. Alex looked at him, unsure about what she should say. "Thank you for this dinner. And thank you for saving me." He put his bowl on the floor and closed his eyes.

"Is everything okay?" Alex asked him in a worried tone. Derek sighted, his eyes still closed. "To be honest, I am scared." He opened his eyes again, but simply stared at the door. "While you were preparing dinner one single memory returned," he explained.

Alex watched him. She felt happy for him but at the same time was confused. 'Why was he sad about being able to remember something?' "And… what did you remember?" she asked carefully. She watched him while she waited for an answer. But after he didn't say anything for at least a minute she guessed that he didn't want to tell her. "Sorry for asking. You don't have to tell …" "I did remember getting into a fight with my father," he interrupted her. Alex couldn't help her but stare at him. "I can't remember the exact words we said to each other. I only know that they were ugly, mean, and that we did hurt each other with them quite bad. And I know that it was the last time I spoke to him."

"Was that before you lost your consciousness and ended up here?" she asked curiously. But all he did was nod lightly, almost invisible for her to notice. Derek then slowly turned his head towards Alex and their eyes met. She saw tears running down his face. Without thinking twice she laid a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "Do you think he is searching for me?"

Alex couldn't help herself and give him a warm smile. "Of course. Even when you two were insulting each other, he still is your father." She pulled Derek closer and hugged him, surprised about her own action. Normally she would be unable to do such a thing without asking, especially with a stranger, but right now it felt like the right thing to do. "I am sure he already is searching for you. If you want I can bring you to the town as soon as you feel well enough."

Alex ended the hug to make eye contact with him once again. "And for as long as you are not able to find him or remember anything you are welcome to stay here, understood?" Derek simply nodded. He wanted to thank her again, but before he even could have opened his mouth, Alex already had put on a grin. "After all, I could need someone who can clean the house so I don't have to do it on my own."

Derek began to laugh, his mood having grown brighter from her words. Alex was glad that she was able to help him. "You really are going to exploit me, aren't you?" "Sure, why else would I have made sure that you are getting well?" she said with the evilest grin on her face. "Fair enough," he answered with a heavy nod, followed by a heavy yawn. "Well, someone is getting sleepy," she mocked him while she grabbed his bowl and stood up. "You should sleep now. It has been a long day for you." "Yea, you are right. After all I have to get well as soon as I can," Derek answered, his voice now sounded as if he was already falling asleep.

When Alex stood in front of the door she stopped and turned back to Derek once again. "Good night, sleep well." As the only answer coming from him was a quiet snoring she left the room smiling. She put the bowls on the kitchen table, put the leftovers into the fridge and decided that she could clean up the next day.

But before she made her way into her own room her gaze got stuck on the guest room that had been empty the same morning. Even though she was happy that she was able to help him, she also was still disappointed.

Alex wasn't sure why she was feeling like this. Maybe she felt it because she had mistaken Derek for her own father when she found him lying on the forest ground? Or was she disappointed about herself because she realized how naive she still is to still believe her father would come back to her one day?

While she laid in her bed, waiting for her sleep to arrive, she had to remember how good felt to laugh once again after almost a year. And thus she decided with her last thoughts, before her dreams took over her, that she was happy to have a guest like Derek in her house.

* * *

 **I welcome you to my first story and thus also my first RWBY-Fanfiction!**

 **After enjoying other people's fan fictions (mostly about RWBY) I finally decided to try to write one on my own. I wanted to write a story mostly about OC's in the world of Remnant (because of several reason, but they'll stay a secret for now ;P) And after some trial and error I finally got a first chapter I can be happy with.**

 **I have got many plans and ideas waiting to be implemented in this story and thus it will most likely become quite long. I haven't decided yet whether I should post everything in one story or if I should split everything into volumes, that is going to be decided on the fly.**

 **I really do hope that you (as the reader) did enjoy this little chapter and it would be awesome if you would take your time to honour me with a small review about what you did or didn't like. In the end I want to know how to improve myself :D**

 **Thanks again for reading, and I hope I will see you next time :)**

 **/Erxio**


	2. Chapter 2 - A strange world

**Chapter 2 – A strange world**

Derek groaned in annoyance as the sun decided to lighten up his small room. After the light started to get reflected by the window directly into his eyes he took his pillow from under his head and smashed it onto his head in the hope of getting some more sleep.

At first he didn't mind the lack of any kind of curtain or window shade in the room but right now he wished for nothing more than having something to block the sun off.

When the smell of fresh brewed coffee tingled his nose he guessed that there was no point on getting any more sleep. _'Man, I really hate mornings…'_

Right as he stood up Derek's thoughts got interrupted by a knocking on the wooden door which he answered with a sleepy "Yes?"

"Can I come in?" A feminine voice asked. Suddenly his mind managed to wake up fully as he remembered that he wasn't lying in his own bed, inside his own room nor inside his own home.

' _Oh yea, there was something…'_ He thought while lightly touching the bandages on his chest, still afraid that some wounds might hurt. But before his mind had a chance to drift off into thoughts he answered the female voice with a sleepy voice: "Yes, of course."

Alex opened the door and looked at Derek. Instead of the light summer dress the wolf girl was wearing the last day she was now dressed in a simple, dark red colored short sleeved top and wore dark blue jeans. Her hair was the same as before, still hanging softly onto her shoulders.

"How do you feel?" She asked with a worried voice.

"Quite tired but other than that completely okay," he responded. To prove it he tried to stand up, which fortunate for him was easier than he has expected it to be.

"See?" he said with a friendly smile on his face which Alex mimicked in response. "Nice to see. Do you want to have breakfast? The bread is fresh and the coffee is warm."

"Sure, sounds great." He said while his mood started to lighten up. And so she led him out of his room.

On their way towards the table Derek took his chance in observing Alex's home for the first time. Just like in 'his' room everything seemed to have a purpose. Some walls were covered in shelfs which offered just enough place for the items on it – nothing more, nothing less. Also there seemed to be almost no room wasted for hallways as his room was directly next to the open kitchen.

The kitchen itself was neat in its own way. Though it didn't seem to be offering much room to prepare food it didn't feel squished at all. It was just like everything else in this house and offered no unnecessary space.

Next to the kitchen stood a small wooden table covered in a cloth which had a simple red and black chess pattern. Dishes were already placed and were accompanied by a plate with bread, a small silver pot with what Derek assumed was the coffee, a plate with some slices of cheese and a small vase with a little blue flower inside were filling the table. For Derek the vase seemed to be somewhat out of place but he didn't mind.

Both of them sat down and she offered him a slice of warm bread which he took without hesitation.

"Take whatever you need, I still have enough of everything here… expect for butter maybe, there you should be a little bit careful."

"Okay, thank you." She chuckled lightly at his words. "You do know that you don't have to thank me for everything I do, right?"

"Well, I don't take it for granted when somebody is nice to me, so I guess you will be hearing that more often." Alex smiled about that and decided to have some fun.

"Then I guess I have to be less nice to you from now on." Derek could only laugh about her statement which seemed to annoy Alex a little bit.

"Don't you think that it would be possible for me to be mean?"

"No no, you are the meanest and most evil wolf girl I have ever met," he stated sarcastically to fuel her annoyance. But instead she seemed to enjoy the challenge and smiled again, showing some of her sharper teeth while doing so.

"Well then you shouldn't forget that this 'most evil wolf girl' will be cooking for you for the next few days," Alex said mockingly and took a bite of her bread. After Derek didn't knew what to reply she closed her eyes in satisfaction, enjoying having had the last word in their little conversation.

They continued to eat in silence until Derek began to wonder about one thing.

"May I ask you something?" Alex swallowed her bite before answering him. "Sure, why not?" she answered curiously.

"Why are you living on your own in this forest? Doesn't it get lonely over time?"

She stopped mid motion of taking another bite, surprised by his question. In a slow motion she put her bread back onto her plate. Her gaze wandered towards the window on her right and her gaze wandered off into distance. She stayed like that in silence for some seconds before finally opening her mouth.

"I… I am actually not living all alone by myself," she started explaining in a weak voice. "My father lives with me, but he has gone on a mission one month ago. He should return soon, but I don't know when exactly." She looked Derek directly into the face but her face was holding a somewhat cold expression. _'Was she angry at me?'_

"About why we are living in a forest," she continued, "you remember what I told you about people being anti-faunus?" Derek nodded at her question.

"Well, living inside this forest is a lot safer for faunus, even though it is inhabited by grim." After she was done she closed her eyes and didn't show any intention of talking anymore. She simply took her bread back into her hand again and continued to eat.

 _'Grim? And what kind of mission did her father go for?'_ Derek wondered. He would have liked to ask her but he was afraid that he was already digging too deep into her life. He began to feel guilty for asking her but calmed himself by thinking that his intention wasn't to make her feel uncomfortable.

With the intention of change topics he tried to do so by asking another question.

"So… What are the plans for today if I may ask?" he asked carefully, his voice reflected a little bit of uncertainty, for he wasn't sure whether she would response or not.

But to his fortune she finally opened her eyes and looked at him. While she was chewing on her bite her face softened up and he could see that she was thinking. And after she swallowed she answered him in her usual voice.

"Well, firstly I have to change your bandages. I will help you take them off, then you can go wash yourself and after you are done I will be putting on new ones. Even though I don't think that you would need one anymore it sure won't harm you. After that I would suggest that you would take it easy for today."

"For today," she continued, "I have actually planned to do some work in the garden, water the flowers, cut the bushes and so on." She paused to think about what Derek could do to not get bored.

"Just as I said you should rest today. We have got a nice reading corner inside and I can give you something to read. But sadly that's all I can think of for now." Derek thought about the offer and quickly nodded in response, signalizing her to carry on.

"Tomorrow I have to go into the town to grab some groceries. I guess that you should be able to come with me since you are able to walk again without falling over. And while I will be shopping you can go by yourself and search for anything that would help you in your search for your home."

With her last words spoken she finished her slice of bread with one last bite. After that she took the coffee, poured herself some of its content into her cup and put some milk and sugar into it. While she was doing that Derek was watching her motions as he was thinking.

He thought about how he should start to search for his home. But with a sigh he decided that it still was too early in the morning for him to think about this problem. _'The day will be long enough to figure something out.'_ "Sounds fine to me. What kind of books do you have?"

"Well, I have a lot of books about history to offer, mostly about the early days of Remnant, first discoveries of Dust and Aura and other smaller stories. Other than that there should be some thriller and novels about different topics."

She put a finger on her chin and wondered if she has forgotten something. "Yes that should be everything. By now you should have figured that we have not that much place to offer here, thus we don't own that many books."

After a small pause Alex noticed that Derek was watching her with an eager expression. "What is it?" she asked.

"Well…" he wasn't sure what he wanted to say. He wasn't even sure what he wanted to know or even what he already knew. "You mentioned the words 'Remnant', 'Dust', 'Aura' and earlier also 'Grim' like everyone would know what they were." He sighed, filled with little disappointment and annoyance. "I must have hit my head really hard when I can't even remember these words..."

Silence took over their conversation while Alex tried to form simple explanations for the words mentioned by Derek.

"'Remnant' is what this world is called. That's the easiest word to explain of the ones you mentioned." Derek was now watching Alex and followed her words with much interest.

"'Grim' is the name we have given the biggest enemy of mankind. They could be described as animals corrupted with hatred and pure negativity, at least that's what they do look like. They appear in many types and forms and seem to be attracted by negative emotions like sadness, hate or depression." She stopped as she noticed that Derek seemed to get nervous. She knew what he was thinking right now and smiled a little bit.

"Don't worry, these emotions need to be coming from a large group of people and for a long time before they start to hunt them. Still, some isolated grim show up here from time to time but they are no problem, my father is a hunter and he trained me well enough that I can fight them on my own."

"About 'Aura' and 'Dust'… I guess it would be easier to show you instead of trying to explain. I guess you wouldn't even believe me in the state you are in now." She rose from her chair and pointed towards Derek's temporary room. "While you are washing I will clean the kitchen, so don't worry about it. I will give you fresh clothes, as you seem to have almost the same size as my father."

And so he walking into his room while Alex went and grabbed him some clothes. She gave them to him and he made his way towards the bathroom. Just before he left the room Alex yelled: "Oh, wait! I almost forgot about your bandages. Let me take them off for you."

* * *

After he was done washing and putting on his new clothes, which fortunately fitted him almost perfectly, Derek made his way towards his room. There Alex was already sitting on a chair in from of the bed, waiting for him and already having laid out some bandages and a small tube. "Just sit down so I can apply this crème on the wounds on your chest."

After he sat down she started to apply the crème on chest. Derek noticed how cold her hand was. But contrary the crème felt surprisingly warm on his skin. He watched with a great interest how gentle Alex was applying the crème and observed the wounds she was treating.

While he was washing he noticed how most of his chest was covered with dark purplish bruises. They were accompanied by a few flesh wounds, just as if something big and heavy had hit him. _'What the heck has happened to me?'_

"Aura is a big part of our lives." Derek got torn out of his own thoughts when Alex began speaking while continuing treating his wounds. "Many simply described it as our soul but that puts it quite lightly. It is more like an extension of our soul, reaching far beyond our body." Her hand touched a wound which still wasn't closed completely and Derek inhaled sharply as the foreign substance started to sting.

"Sorry," she said as she noticed she hurt him. He looked away from his chest towards her face offering her a small smile in response.

"Aura is a great source of power. Once activated it helps us heal our wounds. It lets us push our bodies beyond its boundaries. With enough training it even can be used as a proper shield to avoid getting any damage at all. But the biggest use for aura is the ability to make use of dust."

"While aura is the embodiment of our desires, our wishes and our will is dust the 'aura' of the nature, naturally occurring in the form of crystals." She handed him the tube she was using.

Derek took it and read what the label said: _'Dust enhanced antibiotic crème – for cleaning wounds and supporting healing processes'._ When his head tilted in slight confusion Alex began explaining to him further.

"Dust carries the power of the basic elements and comes in four forms: Wind, earth, fire and ice. These are the basic types of dust. They are raw, destructive and mostly find their use in battle." She pointed which her index finger at the tube.

"But this basic dust, preferably called 'nature's wrath', can be combined to achieve new abilities. These can range from new destructive forces like lightning to much more graceful abilities like supporting the process of healing."

Now Derek seemed to begin to understand the basic concepts of dust. "So this crème is combined with dust? But is it even of any use on someone who hasn't an activated aura?"

Alex tilted her head slightly. "Well, in fact your aura is unlocked. Its size is only lower average but it still is there. That's also the only reason why I didn't bring you to a hospital."

Derek let the information wander through his mind. He already had an unlocked aura. But for what purpose was it unlocked? _'Could it be that I was a fighter or something like that?'_

"Is everyone's aura is the same?" Derek mumbled to himself and he was quite surprised when Alex answered him.

"Well, yes and no. Aura itself can be used by everyone in the same basic ways. But further beyond that there is one ability that is unique to everyone. This one ability is a reflection of the deepest parts of ones soul. And because of this it is called 'semblance'. The semblance is defined in the instant someone activates your aura. And it is impossible to change it."

"And what is a semblance capable of?" Instead of answering directly Alex smiled widely and began to look out of the window.

"Why don't I just show you?" She looked back at him, still smiling. Derek nodded in response. "Okay, then just let me finish up your bandages and we will go outside."

* * *

Alex and Derek were standing outside of her garden. The weather was warm and the sky was almost completely clear. He stood a few steps away from her, giving her enough space for whatever she wanted to show him. His eyes were watching her every move.

At first she simply stood there and her purple eyes were focusing on something in the distant. Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath and held in for a few moments. On exhaling she stretched her right arm forwards, opened her palm and looked ready to grab anything.

As she took another breath her body began to surround itself with a light purple coloured glow. The glow seemed to wander from her body into her right arm as she began exhaling. It wandered even further until it reached her palm. There the light seemed to flow out of her palm and collected itself in a ball like form.

The ball grew in size with every breath and shortly after its form began to transform. The ball got longer and thinner and started to bend. It didn't take long for Derek to see what Alex was trying to form.

After mere seconds the ball of light had transformed into a simple bow made out of purple light, floating in front of Alex's right palm.

She opened her eyes and grabbed the bow in the same moment and began to move herself into a typical stance for archers. Her left hand moved towards the string of the bow and upon touching it with her middle and index finger they began to glow in the same light.

As she drew the string back her fingers left behind a small line which soon shaped itself into the form of an arrow. And after she was happy with her aim and drawing strength she let her fingers go.

The arrow flew at high speed and hit the trunk of a tree she aimed at. But instead of losing its momentum and stopping there it penetrated the tree without problem, leaving behind a small hole. The same thing happened to the trees behind it. But with each tree the arrow penetrated its glow grew dimmer and dimmer until it finally disappeared.

Being happy with the result she smiled while she let her bow disappear into thin air. Derek just stood there with his mouth opened while starring at Alex. She noticed his stare and grinned. "Cool, heh?"

"Cool? You just created a bow out of thin air and shot an arrow which penetrated four trees without any problem!" Derek pointed vaguely into the direction of the shot. His face still showed how stunned he was by her little show off. But his expression soon got replaced by one filled with pure interest.

"So that's what a semblance is capable of?" he asked while watching his hand, wondering what he would do with such a power. After all his aura has been unlocked thus he assumed that he had a need for that.

"Like I have earlier said, every person holds another semblance." Alex walked towards Derek while explaining. "My semblance is the ability to physically manifest my aura and form it through my will." She opened her right hand, which again was surrounded by the strange light, and let her aura take the form of a small ball. After it was formed it fell onto her palm and stayed there while the light around her arm disappeared.

"It isn't that rare to find people who can manipulate other things through their aura. I have heard stories about one Huntress who owns the ability to move objects around at her own will by surrounding them with her aura."

Alex began to move the ball around inside of her hand. "But once her aura leaves said objects her control over it is gone. Also she needs more aura the longer she wants to keep in control."

"But unlike her I don't use my aura to control something. My semblance allows me to create objects which only use up my aura upon creating. Once they are in existence they won't disappear until the aura inside the object burns out."

She tilted her hand and let the ball fall onto the ground. Derek stared at the ball as it fell. When it touched the ground it looked like it shattered into millions of little lights. "I used very little aura to create this ball. Thus a single drop was enough to waste its 'fuel'."

He thought about what she had explained to him. "Does that mean that everything you create is having its own aura supply?" She nodded in answer. "Basically, yes."

A cold breeze touched them and Alex noticed that the sky was getting clouded. "Great," she sighted demotivated, "Should it start to rain now I can forget about taking care of the garden." She sighted heavily annoyed and turned towards Derek with a weak smile.

"Sorry, but I really have to take care of all the stuff inside the garden before autumn starts. What about I give you the book about remnant? Later I will be able to answer more of your questions." "Yes, of course. Sorry for keeping you busy," he answered politely.

She shook her head. "Not at all. After all it isn't your fault that the weather turned so quickly." She looked him directly into the eyes with a playfully distrusting gaze. "At least I hope it wasn't your doing, was it?"

He waved his hands defensively in front of him and shook his head while laughing lightly. Alex smiled at that picture. "Good boy," she said with a small laughter while they moved back into the house.

Back inside Alex led him towards a small but filled wooden bookshelf where she searched the book. After finding it she gave him a book bearing the title "The world of Remnant". The title was printed in golden letters and the leathery cover was painted in a deep black. On the front was a picture of a small world map drawn with golden lines onto the black background. Four crosses where spread on the continents.

He slowly opened the book, afraid of damaging any pages, and on the first page he found a sentence written inside with a neat handwriting.

"For my little wolf – may this help you to understand this strange world. Love, Noir".

Derek looked up onto Alex's face with a question already on his lips but he hesitated when she was watching the handwriting with a small smile.

"It was a present from my dad when I was little." Her eyes were filling with joy as she began remembering her fifth birthday. "I have always attacked him with questions about everything. Thus he decided to give me, a 5 year old girl, a lexicon about the world."

Her mind was wandering off deeper into her joyful memories. "He read it to me each evening, no matter what. I didn't let anyone else read it to me other than my father." Alex chuckled lightly. "I even once bit a family friend who watched out for me when my father was on missions. My dad told him that I liked that book and so he decided that he could read some pages to me. But I simply bit his arm."

She was now grinning, showing off some sharp teeth, and Derek got slightly nervous by that view. That didn't go unnoticed by Alex. "It was worth the taste," she said with the meanest smile on her face. But she wasn't able keep it up for very long as she had to laugh at the sight of a now slightly pale Derek.

"Don't worry, I am just joking." Derek exhaled gladly while colour returned to his face.

"So this book means a lot to you?" Alex nodded in response. "Then I feel honoured being allowed to read it." He looked back at the book with a look on his face that told Alex how much interest he seemed to have in its content.

"You can use the chair here. It is quite comfortable and the lamp offers a good light." She pointed towards a big, black leather chair standing in the corner next to the bookshelf. He took the book and placed himself into the chair. When his body made contact with the surface he noticed how comfortable the chair was and moaned lightly in pleasure.

Alex laughed at this. "Well, don't fall asleep," she said mockingly. "Can't promise anything, sorry," he responded.

"Well, have fun reading. If you need anything just ask, I will be in the garden." While she was leaving him alone she turned back at him only to find him already reading. _'Maybe I should start reading in that book again once in a while.'_

* * *

After hours of ripping plants out of the ground, fighting against bushed and praying that it wouldn't start to rain while Alex was still outside she finally decided that it would be enough for one day. Even though he had made a small break to eat something with Derek for lunch she felt as if she was starving to death.

She put everything she had used back where she got them from and stretched herself one last time for that day while breathing in the cool air and watching the sky. _'I really got lucky with the rain'_ she thought as the first raindrop touched her cheek. This was her signal for getting back inside as soon as possible.

Back inside she went into her room, changed herself into new cloths and made her way into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

On her way she made looked into the corner Derek was reading in. She smiled as she remembered what had happened when she called him for lunch:

" _Derek? I made us some lunch!" Alex called from the kitchen. When she saw that Derek didn't seem to be noticing her call she walked towards him._

 _When she stood in front of his chair she tried it once again: „Derek? Lunch?" And once again he didn't even flinch._

 _She sighed and decided to try it one call one last time while she moved her hand to grab his shoulder: "Derek! Lunch is read…" Her slightly frustrated voice got interrupted by a small and surprisingly feminine scream coming from Derek, who jumped in his chair while he got ripped out of his thoughts. She couldn't help herself but laugh about his scream._

Alex had to hold in a small chuckle as she grabbed the leftovers from last dinner and put them on the oven. She turned it on and walked towards Derek. But unlike last time he seemed to be not completely unaware of his surroundings as he moved his head towards her upon her approach.

"Not this time, sorry," he stated. Alex tried her best too look disappointed but seemed to fail as Derek simply chuckled at her attempt.

"I guess dinner is ready?" he asked.

"Not yet. I just began heating everything up. Would it be a problem if you set the table?" she asked carefully as she didn't want to give him the feeling that she was forcing him.

In response of her question Derek closed the book and stood up. "Of course, no problem!" Alex was a little bit surprised how happy he was about her request. But then again she guessed that he is that kind of person who likes to be able to help someone.

After standing up he looked at the table and then at her while his face showed a hint of confusion. "Ehm…"

Alex instantaneously understood what his problem was and explained him where the dishes and everything else was before going back to her oven.

After some minutes both of them sat at the table with hot stew inside their bowls.

"Ah! I hope this still tastes as great as yesterday!" Alex coughed slightly into her fist while glaring at Derek. "Of course it will taste great! I cooked it!"

"Then let's not wait any longer than so we can find out," he responded amused and they began eating. He was happy that the food really taste as good as the evening before.

While they were eating he figured that he could use this moment to ask Alex about different topics which were mentioned inside the book. "Alex?"

"Hmm?" she answered while putting another spoon in her mouth. "In the book were some stories about people who fought grim. They were called… well…" He would have loved to punch his own memory in the face as he wasn't able to recall the name.

Alex swallowed and helped him with his small struggle. "I guess you mean hunters. What about them?"

"The book said they were using aura and dust to fight the creatures of grim. It also said that hunters were one of the first jobs humanity had created in order to survive. But shouldn't all grim be, I don't know, extinct or something by now when we were fighting them for so long?"

"Didn't the book have a chapter about that topic?" She said before she put another spoonful of stew inside her mouth.

"It did. But all that chapter had to offer was a story which seemed to be written for children, weren't it for all the killing and stuff." He said while playing with the spoon a little bit. "Thus I simply took it as a simple story."

Alex put down her spoon, closed her eyes and began reciting what she remembered to be the moral of the story. "For every human born there has to be a grim. For every grim born there has to be a human. One cannot exist with nor without another."

She opened her eyes and looked directly into Derek's. "My father explained to me that this story is one of the most common told. This story is what many people found the most logical reason for why we would never be able to overcome grim."

Her now opened hands were placed in front of her as if they were part of a scale. "There is no darkness without light, there is no good without evil and according to the author there can't be grim without humanity."

Derek was frowning at her words. "And why do people believe that this story is more than just a story? Was the guy who wrote it someone special?"

Alex smiled lightly. "Not at all. He was just as common as you and I are. But he was the first one who managed to put this situation into words in a way that made sense. Hard to believe that something fictional makes the most sense, right?"

"Yea." He still wasn't really sure how he should feel about a story being taken too seriously. But he decided not to be bothered about it for too long.

The rest of the dinner they spend talking about random stuff. Most of the time Alex was telling him some funny stories from her past. They talked about how the weather soon start becoming colder. Derek seemed to be happy about the idea of winter not being too far away while Alex seemed to harbour some hate against said season.

After some hours of good company and conversations Alex finally stood up and started to stretch her arm.

"Well, I guess it's time for bed. Tomorrow we will get up earlier since we have to walk to the town on our own." Derek's only response was a heavy yawn.

They both cleaned up and made their way to their rooms. Alex was getting more tired with each second passing and her "Good night" was accompanied by a sleepy undertone.

Derek wasn't sure if she fully recognized him replying with "Thanks, you too." while she went towards the bathroom.

Once in his bed Derek still laid awake for some time thinking about how he would start his search the next day. But after he wasn't able to plan out anything he figured that he should spontaneously when they were in the town.

After he made up his mind sleep wasn't that far away.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **Leaving a comment about what you think so far would really make my day ^-^** **.**

 **Until the next time!**


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